Scott Long's Comedy Fly-Over Country

July 9, 2012

The Real Facts Behind Doing a Fundraiser Event

With Jenilee Harrison (Host of the event) and friends of hers. Come and knock on my door.

Generally the summer time is my slowest period for doing standup. In the Midwest, people spend less time at comedy clubs because it’s the 3-4 months a year where they can enjoy the weather. Actually, the beast of heat we’ve been under has been beneficial to standup, as you don’t have to compete with beer gardens or patio restaurants. I’m not only a believer in Global Warming, I’m a FAN!

I have spent the summer a little off the comedy grid, though. I hardly have any traditional gigs on my calendar, instead I have been setting up my shows for the summer. Barnstorming is a lot more work, especially if your not a big name comic like Doug Stanhope, but if you have some connections with the media like I do, it can be done. I will get into some of the more creative projects I’ve done the past summer, but today I wanted to discuss a show I did a couple of weeks ago in Jeffersonville, IN, suburb of Louisville.

This was the second year I was involved in a great charity event for K9 Care of Montana. The K9 Care program sets up a customized activities for special needs kids and their families in Montana. As someone with a child on the autism spectrum I am proud to have helped with raising money for them.

Now doing a fundraiser is rewarding, but they are awkward for standup comedy. The audience isn’t there for standup, they are there to support the charity. I find that the majority of people at fundraisers are great people who want to help there fellow man (or environment.) You know precisely the type of people who don’t generally gravitate towards my darkly twisted thoughts on mankind. To combat this I try to come off more sunshiny and lovable. Sometimes this works better for me than others. For this K9 fundraiser I should add that I’m performing in a room without a stage, in broad daylight that has windows showing off some great views of the Ohio River, it is really difficult to get the audience to feel connected. Last year it was one of my worst shows I had, but this year went better, as I was able to use a couple of my bits to help me create more of a comedic energy. Ultimately I have to just focus on that I’m part of an event where I raising money for a cause I care about.

One cool thing was this year the host of the event was Jenilee Harrison. Jenilee was on 3’s Company and Dallas, plus was the star of infomercial genius Ultimate Chopper. Concerning what I did watching her on 3’s Company it was cool meeting someone that when you were 16 you would have murdered for. It is the first person I have ever met that I had pleasured myself to before meeting her. What an honor for her! I like to think of Jenilee like this.

So here are some more photos from the show. I’m going to try to do a better job of checking in here more again, but have been swamped with some unique comedy projects that have been taking a lot of my time. Exciting time for me. Not sure all my ideas are going to work, but it’s fun switching up and not just relying on booking agents to fill my schedule.